Stopper for a ladle or similar receptacle



Nov. 14, 1967 T. H. HARLEY STOPPER FOR A LADLE OR SIMILAR RECEPTACLE Filed Dec. 18, 1964 XNVENTOR g Theodore H. Harley z5w4 ZL% United States Patent 3,352,534 STOPPER FOR A LADLE OR SIMILAR RECEPTACLE Theodore H. Harley, Fox Chapel Borough, Pa., assignor to Vesuvius Crucible Company, Swissvale, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Dec. 18, 1964, Ser. No. 419,423 4 Claims. (Cl. 251-356) This invention relates to a stopper for a ladle or similar receptacle and particularly to a stopper of the now well known type disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 759,670, filed Sept. 8, 1958, now Patent No. 3,281,904. Such stopper includes a stopper head having a downwardly extending well therein open at the top thereof and terminating above the bottom thereof together with a stopper rod having a flange at its bottom entering the well of the head and insert means applied to the head entering the well above the rod flange maintaining the rod and head assembled. Protective sleeve means of refractory material are disposed about the rod above the head.

In the assembling of such stoppers prior to the present invention the sleeves disposed about the stopper rod above the stopper head had to be applied to the stopper rod from the upper end thereof because the flange at the bottom of the rod had a transverse dimension greater than the transverse dimension of the bore of the sleeves which precluded application of the sleeves over the bottom of the rod. This was undesirable because it necessitated removal from the top of the rod of the nut and washer means employed for holding down the sleeves. With other types of stoppers, as, for example, the type employing a key driven through an opening through the stopper rod near the bottom thereof for holding the stopper head in place on the'rod, in which case no flange was required at the bottom of the rod, it was possible to introduce the sleeves over the bottom of the rod, but that necessitated sacrificing the now well recognized advantages of the type here involved.

I have devised a stopper having all the advantages of stoppers of the type disclosed in said application but providing for application of the sleeves over the bottom of the stopper rod. I still utilize a stopper head having a downwardly extending well therein open at the top thereof and terminating above the bottom thereof together with a stopper rod having a flange at its bottom entering the well of the head and sleeve means disposed about the rod above the head, but I employ sleeve means having a bore of greater transverse dimension than the rod flange so that the sleeve means may be introduced over the rod from the bottom of the rod before the bottom of the rod is inserted into the Well of the head. Insert means are applied to the head, entering the well above the rod flange and maintaining the rod and head assembled.

In my stopper the insert means preferably have a portion of greater transverse dimension than the bore of the sleeve means so that the sleeve means bear on the insert means. The height of the insert means is preferably such that when the insert means seat on the rod flange and the rod seats on the bottom of the well of the head a portion of the insert means projects above the top of the head and includes the portion thereof of greater transverse dimension than the bore of the sleeve means. Desirably the transverse dimension of the upper portion of the rod which lies within the sleeve means is of the same order. as the transverse dimension of the rod flange and the rod has a portion of reduced transverse dimension between the upper portion thereof and the flange, the insert means entering such portion of reduced transverse dimension of the rod. I make the insert means in sections so that they are appliable laterally to the rod.

More specifically I provide a stopper for a ladle or similar receptacle comprising a stopper head having a downwardly extending well therein open at the top thereof and terminating above the bottom thereof, a stopper rod of substantially uniform transverse dimension below the top thereof except that it has a portion of reduced transverse dimension somewhat spaced from its bottom to provide a flange at the bottom of the rod and a portion above the portion of reduced transverse dimension whose transverse dimension is substantially the same as that of the flange, the stopper rod entering the well of the head and seating on the bottom of the well, sleeve means disposed about the rod above the head having a bore of greater transverse dimension than the rod so that the sleeve means may be introduced over the rod from the bottom of the rod before the bottom of the rod is inserted into the well of the head and insert means entering the portion of the rod of reduced transverse dimension and applied to the head maintaining the rod and head assembled. The insert means preferably have a portion of greater transverse dimension than the bore of the sleeve means so that the sleeve means bear on the insert means.

Other details, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description of a present preferred embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown a present preferred embodiment of the invention, the drawing being a central vertical crosssectional view through a ladle nozzle having a ladle stopper made in accordance with my invention applied thereto.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, stoppers of the type with which this invention is concerned are employed in bottom pour ladles used primarily in steel mills for receiving molten steel from open hearth furnaces and teeming the molten steel into ingot molds. Only so much of the structure as is necessary to explain the invention is disclosed in the drawing. The bottom pour ladle may be of conventional construction, having in its bottom a nozzle designated generally by reference numeral 2. The nozzle shown is of conventional shape, flaring toward relatively great transverse dimension at its upper end to form a seat for the ladle stopper. The ladle stopper is mounted in rigging which is of a type well known to those skilled in the art and which includes means operated either manually or by power for moving the ladle stopper down into the nozzle to close the nozzle as shown in the drawing and up out of the nozzle to allow molten steel to flow out through the nozzle into the ingot molds.

My ladle stopper includes a stopper head designated generally by reference numeral 3 which may be of material known to those skilled in the art, such as clay and graphite, having a downwardly extending well 4 therein which, as shown, is open at the top of the head and ter-' minates above the bottom of the head. The well 4 has a circular bottom portion 5 and the wall of the well above the circular bottom portion 5 is slightly enlarged and internally threaded as shown at 6, the threads extending to the top of the well.

My stopper includes a stopper rod designated by reference numeral 7, conventionally of steel, having a flange 8 at its bottom, which flange in the form shown is integral with the rod and circular and is received in the generally circular bottom portion 5 of the well 4 as shown in the drawing. In the form shown the stopper rod 7 has above the flange 8 a portion of 9 of reduced transverse dimension and above the portion 9 another portion 10 constituting by far the greatest part of the entire rod and which may be termed the body of the rod and having a transverse dimension of the same order as the transverse dimension of the flange 8. Above the portion 10 the stopper rod is reduced and threaded as shown at 12 to receive nuts 13 and a washer 14 holding down the sleeves prese'ntly to be described when the stopper is in use. The broken line 11 at the top of the drawing indicates where the rod may have an upward extension connected with the rigging for raising and lowering of the stopper.

Above the stopper head are a plurality of sleeves 15. The sleeves have a bore 16 Whose transverse dimension is somewhat greater than the transverse dimension of the flange 8 and portion 10 of the rod 7 as shown in the drawing. Each sleeve has a countersunk lower end 17 as shown and a central projection 18 at its upper end adapted to enter the countersink in an adjacent sleeve, except that the top of the uppermost sleeve may be flat as shown at 19.

I provide insert means 20 characteristic of the type of stopper of said application which are applied to the stopper head 3 and enter the well 4 above the rod flange 8 maintaining the rod and head assembled. In the form shown the insert means 20 are externally threaded as shown at 21 adapting the insert means to be screwed into the internally threaded well of the head. The insert means 20 are in sections so that the insert means are appliable laterally to the rod. The insert means are applied so as to enter the reduced portion of the rod as shown. The insert means have a portion 22 of greater transverse dimension that the bore 16 of the sleeves so that the'sleeves bear on the insert means. The portion 22 of the insert means enters the countersunk portion 17 of the lowermost sleeve as shown. The height of the insert means is such that when the insert means seat on the rod flange and the rod seats on the bottom of the well of the head as shown the portion 22 of the insert means projects above the top of the head. There may be a slight space 26 between the bottom of the portion 22 and the top of the stopper head.

In assembling the stopper it is not necessary to remove the nuts 13 or the washer 14 and indeed the uppermost sleeve empolyed in the preceding cast may be reusable in which case it likewise need not be removed. The required number of new sleeves are applied over the bottom of the rod, the insert means 20 are applied to the portion 9 of the rod and the head 3 is screwed on. Preferably the head 3 is screwed on until there is tight bearing between the bottom of the well of the head and the bottom of the rod, between the top of the rod flange and the bottom of the 'insert means and between the upper surface 23 of the portion 22 of the insert means and the inner annular downwardly facing surface 24 of the lowermost sleeve. There may be a slight space 27 between the bottom of the lowermost sleeve and the top of the stopper head. The second sleeve bears upon the lowermost sleeve at 25 and so on to the uppermost sleeve. When the stopper is jammed down into the nozzle to stop the flow of steel out of the ladle the thrust of the sleeves is not imposed upon the relatively thin-Walled upper portion of the stopper head but is transmitted through the insert means and the rod flange to the bottom of the stopper head which seats in the nozzle of the ladle.

Thus I have very considerably extended the utility of the type of stopper head of said copending application in providing for application of the sleeves over the bottom of the rod flange while retaining all the advantages of that type of head.

While I have shown and described a present preferred embodiment of the invention it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied Within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A stopper for a ladle or similar receptacle comprising a stopper head having a downwardly extending well therein open at the top thereof and terminating above the bottom thereof, a stopper rod having a flange at its bottom forming an integral permanent part of the stopper rod entering the well of the head, the flange being small enough to be introduced downwardly into the well from the top thereof, sleeve means disposed about the rod above the head and holddown means applied to the rod above the sleeve means, the sleeve means having a. bore of greater transverse dimension that the rod flange so that the sleeve means may be introduced over the rod from the bottom of the rod before the bottom of the rod is inserted into the well of the head, avoiding the necessity of removing the holddown means, and insert means applied to the head entering the well above the rod flange maintaining the rod and head assembled, the transverse dimension of the upper portion of the rod which lies within the sleeve means being of the same order as the transverse dimension of the rod flange and the rod having a portion of reduced transverse dimension between the upper portion thereof and the flange, the insert means entering such portion of reduced transverse dimension of the rod.

2. A stopper for a ladle or similar receptacle as claimed in claim 1 in which the insert means are in sections so 7 that the insert means are appliable laterally to the rod.

; transverse dimension below the top thereof except that it has a portion of reduced transverse dimension somewhat spaced from its bottom to provide a flange at the bottom of the rod forming an integral permanent part of the stopper rod and a portion above the portion of reduced trans. verse dimension whose transverse dimension is substantially the same as that of the flange, the flange being small enough to be introduced downwardly into the well from the top thereof, the stopper rod entering the well of the head and seating on the bottom of the well, sleeve means disposed aboutthe rod above the head and holddown means applied to the rod above the sleeve means, the sleeve means having a bore of greater transverse dimension than the rod so that the sleeve means may be introduced over the rod from the bottom of the rod before the bottom of the rod is inserted into the well of the head, avoiding the necessity of removing the holddown means, and insert means entering the portion of the rod of reduced transverse dimension and applied to the head main-' taining the rod and head assembled.

4. A stopper for a ladle or similar receptacle comprising a stopper head having a downwardly extending well therein Open at the top thereof and terminating above the bottom thereof, a stopper rod of substantially uniform transversedimension below the top thereof except that it has a portion of reduced transverse dimension somewhat spaced from its bottom to provide a flange at the bottom of the rod forming an integral permanent part of the stopper rod and a portion above the portion of reduced transverse dimension whose transverse dimension is substantially the same as that of the flange, the flange being small enough to be introduced downwardly into the well from the top thereof, the stopper rod entering the Well of the head and seating on the bottom of the well, sleeve means disposed about the rod above the head and holddown means applied to the rod above the sleeve means, the sleeve means having a bore of greater transverse dimension than the rod so that the sleeve means may be introduced over the rod from thebottom of the rod before the bottom of the rod is inserted into the well of the head, avoiding the necessity of removing the holddown means, and insert means entering the portion of the rod of reduced transverse dimension and applied to the head maintaining the rod and headassembled, the insert means References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1914 Prejean. 7/1941 Bidner et a1. 251-319 Roberts 251291 Coady 251-291 Leinhos 251-291 Hoopes 25 1-291 J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

R. D. BALDWIN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A STOPPER FOR A LADLE OR SIMILAR RECEPTACLE COMPRISING A STOPPER HEAD HAVING A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING WELL THEREIN OPEN AT THE TOP THEREOF AND TERMINATING ABOVE THE BOTTOM THEREOF, A STOPPER ROD HAVING A FLANGE AT ITS BOTTOM FORMING AN INTEGRAL PERMANENT APART OF THE STOPPER ROD ENTERING THE WELL OF THE HEAD, THE FLANGE BEING SMALL ENOUGH TO BE INTRODUCED DOWNWARDLY INTO THE WELL FROM THE TOP THEREOF, SLEEVE MEANS DISPOSED ABOUT THE ROD ABOVE THE HEAD AND HOLDDOWN MEANS APPLIED TO THE ROD ABOVE THE SLEEVE MEANS, THE SLEEVE MEANS HAVING A BORE OF GREATER TRANSVERSE DIMENSION THAT THE ROD FLANGE SO THAT THE SLEEVE MEANS MAY BE INTRODUCED OVER THE ROD FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE ROD BEFORE THE BOTTOM OF THE ROD IS INSERTED INTO WELL OF THE HEAD, AVOIDING THE NECESSITY OF REMOVING THE HOLDDOWN MEANS, AND INSERT MEANS APPLIED TO THE HEAD ENTERING THE WELL ABOVE THE ROD FLANGE MAINTAINING THE ROD AND HEAD ASSEMBLED, THE TRANSVERSE DIMENSION OF THE UPPER PORTION OF THE ROD WHICH LIES WITHIN THE SLEEVE MEANS BEING OF THE SAME ORDER AS THE TRANSVERSE DIMENSION OF THE ROD FLANGE AND THE ROD HAVING A PORTION OF REDUCED TRANSVERSE DIMENSION BETWEEN THE UPPER PORTION THEREOF AND THE FLANGE, THE INSERT MEANS ENTERING SUCH PORTION OF REDUCED TRANSVERSE DIMENSION OF THE ROD. 